


Mistletoe

by PanicAtTheEverywhere (DapperMuffin)



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Morning, Christmas Presents, Christmas Sweaters, Couch Cuddles, Crying, Cute, Deceit Sanders Needs a Hug, First Kiss, Fluff, Hugs, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Mistletoe, Sleepy Cuddles, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, deceit has six arms (sometimes)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21874957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DapperMuffin/pseuds/PanicAtTheEverywhere
Summary: Deceit's not terribly excited about Christmas this year. It's always just been the three of them... but without Virgil, it just won't be the same.However, Remus has a plan, and he's determined to carry it through.
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit Sanders, past Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit Sanders
Comments: 16
Kudos: 161





	Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, sorry it's been a little while! I've been focusing on finals, drawing, and one of my longer projects, so I haven't been able to write much.
> 
> This was written for a Secret Santa on the Discord server friendsfromthesandersides for jc-al, and I'm proud of it, so I hope you enjoy it too.

Deceit groaned, first looking up at the ceiling and then down at the calendar on the wall. He'd heard Remus thumping around already, but he had no intention of celebrating today. Not this year.

Sure enough, the thumping got closer, and Remus threw the door open with a bang.

“Why are you still in bed?” he exclaimed, appearing next to Deceit. Remus tugged on his arm, frowning a little when Deceit didn't get up. “Come on, Dee, it's Christmas!” Giving up, he simply snapped his fingers, and now, not only was Deceit on his feet with no warning, but he’d had a change of apparel. He was wearing a Santa hat in place of the usual bowler and some kind of Christmas sweater in his signature colors that matched the one Remus was wearing.

“Now we match! Let's go!” Remus disappeared; Deceit sighed as he walked down the stairs.

Deceit stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Not only had Remus decorated their entire shared mindscape, but Deceit could detect the scent of cookies wafting from the kitchen.

Remus bounced out of the kitchen, beaming from ear to ear. “So? Do you like it? I tried to use fewer garlands this year, since you said you're sensitive to the plant smell.”

Deceit thought for a moment. He wanted to avoid hurting his feelings—after all, the creative side had worked so hard and was being so thoughtful—but he had to find a way to tell Remus that he wasn't going to celebrate this year. 

“It looks nice,” he said sincerely, “but I…” Remus cocked his head like a curious puppy. “Remus, I'm sorry but I'm not celebrating this year. I won't. I  _ can't _ .”

Remus’ smile immediately began to fall.  _ Good job, _ Deceit thought to himself.  _ Remus loves Christmas, but you’ve probably ruined this year for him. _

“Why not?” Remus asked. His expression was pleading, similar to that of a child.

“I  _ can't _ , all right? I just can't. Not this year.” Deceit turned away, not wanting to see Remus disappointed because of him any more than he already was.

“It’s Virgil, isn’t it?” Remus’ voice was quiet. “That's why you're crying.”

_ Crying? _ “I'm not…” But as Deceit touched his cheek, he realized he  _ was _ crying. He... he hadn't cried since that first night when he'd realized Virgil wasn't coming back.

Remus’ voice was suddenly right behind him, and his arms wrapped around Deceit comfortingly. “I miss him too, but we can't stay hung up on him, waiting for him to come back forever.” His breath tickled the back of Deceit’s neck. “Him not being here shouldn't ruin Christmas. You’ve still got me, after all.”

Deceit took a few deep breaths, managing to stop his tears, and he dried his face on the sleeve of his sweater. “You’re right,” he admitted. Remus maintained the hug for a second or two before stepping back, and Deceit turned around, composed once more. “Do you want to see your present?”

Remus’ eyes lit up, and he clapped excitedly. “Aw, you got me a gift?”

“Of course.”  _ We do this every year, _ he added silently. With a flick of his wrist, a box was under the tree. The box had a terrible amalgamation of wrapping paper themes, but that was just how Remus liked it.

Remus bounded over to the tree, grabbing the package, and flopped down on the ground. With gusto, he began to remove the wrapping paper, leaving bits of paper scattered around due to his long, green-and-red painted nails. He peeled the tape from the box, opening it to find several bottles, their contents brightly-colored.

“Disgustingly flavored sodas,” Deceit remarked with satisfaction as Remus examined a bottle filled with a cloudy white liquid whose label read “Ranch Dressing.” “I hated the  _ ideas _ of the flavors, so I knew you'd love them.”

“I do, I do love them!” Remus looked up at him, eyes sparkling. “I love this, thank you!” Deceit smiled.

Remus set the box and its contents aside—but not before stuffing a few packing peanuts in his mouth—leaping to his feet. “I-I have something for you too.” Suddenly he was holding something behind his back, and he looked almost anxious. He pulled it out from behind his back, nervously watching Deceit’s face for his reaction.

“Is that...?”

“Yeah,” Remus confirmed. “It's not a replica or a copy or-or anything, it's... the real thing.”

Deceit snatched Virgil's old jacket from Remus’ hands, holding it up to his face as he took in the comforting smell. “How did you get this?”

Remus rubbed the back of his neck. “I might have stolen it.”

“You stole it?” Deceit opened his eyes, his singular eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, I stole it from his room!” Remus said, no longer seeming sheepish, and, in fact, rather proud. “It was just laying in the back of his closet, and, well, he wasn't using it.” He cackled.

Deceit pulled on the black jacket over his sweater, embracing Remus in a hug with all six of his arms. “Thank you,” he whispered. Remus didn't reply, just moved aside the Santa hat and gently stroked Deceit’s hair the way that made him feel calm and safe.

After a few minutes, Remus glanced up, pointing at something above their heads. “Well, would you look at that? Wonder how that got there.” He grinned mischievously as Deceit saw the mistletoe.

Deceit rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. He retracted his extra arms. “Well? Are you going to kiss me?”

Their first kiss under the mistletoe lasted only a minute or maybe two, but throughout the day Remus would point out another patch of ceiling that happened to have mistletoe hanging under it, and each time they shared a few brief, tender kisses. Deceit got a little braver each time.

“Are those cookies I'm tasting?” Deceit asked after they’d kissed in the kitchen.

“Yep, I made them earlier!” Remus gestured to the table, and, to Deceit’s great surprise, the cookies, laying on a flat metal baking pan, actually looked edible—and good. Cautiously, he sampled one.

“These are really good!” he said, astonished. He finished off one cookie quickly, and soon moved on to a second, and then a third, and a fourth.

“I'm glad you enjoy them,” Remus smiled. “I practiced a lot this year.”

“They're amazing,” Deceit told him, kissing him again—and there wasn't even any mistletoe to prompt them this time.

The two sides ended the day cuddling side by side on the couch next to a lit fireplace Remus had conjured just for this purpose. Sappy Christmas movies were playing quietly in the background, the kind Remus had always called “gross” and “emotional,” but he found that this year, he could understand the sentiment. He looked down at Deceit, whose head was resting on his shoulder. Deceit had stopped himself from nodding off several times, but he'd been too tired and had eventually given in.

Remus pressed a kiss to his boyfriend's forehead. Even without their best friend, without their third musketeer, it had been a good day for Deceit. Remus had made sure of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on Tumblr about the Sides @yourelost-itsokay or one of my numerous sideblogs like @muffin-arts, where I cross-posted this fic ^w^  
> This was beta read by @celeste-tyrrell on Tumblr, who is awesome--thanks, dude!


End file.
